The Mississippi State Department of Health has revoked the license for one of the state’s three medical-cannabis testing labs following an investigation that revealed “significant deviations from regulatory standards and approved procedures,” MSDH said in a statement on Thursday.
The department put products tested at the Rapid Analytics lab in Natchez, Miss., on hold in December after another lab detected toxins in samples Rapid Analytics had already cleared.
“Medical cannabis testing is critical to ensuring product safety for patients, and Rapid Analytics’ disregard for regulatory compliance poses a threat to public health and welfare,” MSDH said. “As such, MSDH has determined to revoke the establishment’s license effective March 13, 2024.”
Rapid Analytics once tested 70% of the state’s medical cannabis. Mississippi now has two medical-cannabis testing labs, including Steep Hill Mississippi in Jackson and Alchemy Analytics in Meridian, which opened earlier this year after the State put a hold on products tested by Rapid Analytics. MSDH Director of External Affairs and Media Relations told the Mississippi Free Press on Thursday that the department expects a third testing lab will open in the near future.
Concerns about the Natchez lab arose after Rapid Analytics and Steep Hill tested the same cannabis sample, but Steep Hill’s analysis showed impurities while Rapid Analytics’ did not, Mississippi Independent Cannabis Association Executive Director Mike Watkins told the Mississippi Free Press on Jan. 8.
Both Rapid Analytics and Steep Hill Mississippi tested the same medical-cannabis sample, but Steep Hill’s analysis showed impurities while Rapid Analytics’ did not, Mississippi Independent Cannabis Association Executive Director Mike Watkins (pictured) told the Mississippi Free Press on Jan. 8, 2023. Photo courtesy Mike Watkins
After receiving a tip, MSDH put an administrative hold on some medical-cannabis products the lab tested in December and temporarily suspended Rapid Analytics’ license. The department has not released the source of the tip.
Hardy Case, a consultant for 74 Suns in Canton, Miss., told the Mississippi Free Press that testing has slowed since Rapid Analytics’ suspension while more testing labs wait for approval to open.
“Since the initial suspension in December, it’s taken tests about twice
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